WA coroner rules 3 asylum seekers drowned

Three asylum seekers drowned near Christmas Island but their families may never be properly informed about their deaths, Western Australia's deputy coroner has confirmed.

Mohammad Hassan, 21, Mohammad Noor, 20, and Mr Sabibullah, 20, became lost at sea in January 2013.

They were among 16 passengers and three crew who departed Indonesia onboard SIEV580, an unseaworthy 16-metre wooden vessel with a decrepit engine.

On the fourth day of their voyage, the engine stopped and the vessel began to fill with water so Captain Roy Jordi and the three men made a raft using bamboo poles, inner tyre tubes, rope and paddles cut out of a wooden box lid.

Jordi, who has since been sentenced for people smuggling, told investigators a storm caused the raft to break and he became separated from the trio.

He was found at Lily Beach on Christmas Island but the other three men were never located.

In her findings, Deputy Coroner Evelyn Vicker said she was satisfied the trio from Myanmar were stateless and were given refugee status by the UNHCR, although documentation for Mr Noor could not be located.

"It is of great regret to me I will be unable to provide information as to their deaths to their loved ones, but accepting that Myanmar has 800,000 displaced persons it is unlikely the UNHCR will be in a position to advise families, unless families make enquiries of that organisation," she said.

Ms Vicker said it appeared no one on SIEV580 understood how treacherous the coast off Christmas Island could be and she suspected it was during the initial battering in the rough conditions that the trio died.

"Certainly if they were pushed towards Christmas Island against the rocks their survival would have been very unlikely," she said.

"While I am unable to determine whether Mr Hassan, Mr Noor and Mr Sabibullah were injured and unconscious, I am satisfied that whatever state they were in they were unable to breathe effectively and as a result drowned.

"There has been no trace of the three men on the surrounds of Christmas Island and there is no evidence any of them survived and reached the island."